Highlights:
May 2021: Cotton Effectively Voted Against Establishing A National Commission To Investigate The January 6th Insurrection At The U.S. Capitol. In May 2021, according to Congressional Quarterly, Cotton voted against the “motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the Schumer motion to proceed to the bill that would establish a national commission to investigate facts and examine evidence related to the Jan. 6, 2021, ‘domestic terrorist attack’ on the U.S. Capitol.” The vote was a motion to invoke cloture. The Senate failed to acquire a 3/5 majority and rejected to the motion by a vote of 54-35. [Senate Vote 218, 5/28/21; Congressional Quarterly, 5/28/21; Congressional Actions, H.R. 3233]
Cotton Said That Some Of The People Who Participated In The January 6 Riot Should Be Pardoned. According to the Washington Times, “Sen. Tom Cotton said Sunday that some people who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol should be pardoned.” [Washington Times, 5/5/24]
VIDEO: Cotton Agreed With Trump That Some Of The January 6 Rioters Were Being Treated Like Hostages. According to ABC News via YouTube, “HOST: He's also calling the people that attacked the Capitol hostages. And he's suggesting that he would, may pardon all of them. I mean, I assume you don't agree with that. COTTON: He said that he would consider pardons, and some of them probably. HOST: And he called them hostages. COTTON: Some of them have been held in pre-trial detention longer than the sentences for the crimes with which they are charged.” [ABC News via YouTube, 5/31/24]
VIDEO: Cotton Said Non-Violent Rioters Should Not Be Held In Pre-Trial Detention For Longer Than Their Sentences Would Be. According to ABC News via YouTube, “COTTON: What shouldn't be used is every grandma who had a red MAGA hat that was within a country mile of the Capitol on January 6th shouldn't be sitting in pre-trial detention for a longer time than the crimes for which they might face a sentence.” [ABC News via YouTube, 5/31/24]
Cotton Joined 23 Lawmakers And Filed A Brief With The Supreme Court In The Case Of Joseph Fischer v. The United States. According to KARK, “Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton has joined 23 lawmakers to oppose the Biden administration’s legal strategy in prosecuting Jan. 6 defendants, and the group is asking the Supreme Court to take action. Cotton joined House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan and 21 other Republicans in filing a brief with the Supreme Court in the case of Joseph Fischer v. The United States. Fisher is accused of entering the Capitol on Jan. 6 and assaulting a police officer.” [KARK, 2/5/24]
Fischer Faced A 20-Year Prison Sentence If He Was Convicted Of Impeding An Official Proceeding Before Congress. According to Roll Call, “The justices hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case from Joseph Fischer, who is challenging his charges related to Jan. 6 under a law that allows up to a 20-year prison sentence for people convicted of ‘corruptly’ obstructing, influencing or impeding a proceeding before Congress.” [Roll Call, 4/15/24]
Cotton Sided With January 6 Defendants At The Supreme Court. According to Roll Call, “Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas consistently has staked out a tough-on-crime stance during his time in the Senate, but he and other congressional Republicans have sided with the defendants in a Supreme Court case about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.” [Roll Call, 4/15/24]
Cotton Argued For A Charge That Carried Only A One-Year Sentence. According to Roll Call, “The group argues that the statute is being used for political prosecutions of Jan. 6 defendants, by bringing a charge carrying a 20-year sentence rather than a charge that carries a year or less that is frequently used against most protesters who disrupt Congress.” [Roll Call, 4/15/24]
Cotton Said The Biden Administration Needed To Be Stopped From “Weaponizing” The Department Of Justice Against Their Political Opponents. According to KARK, “Cotton’s statement accompanying the briefing announcement framed the Jan. 6 prosecutions as political and that the Biden administration is ‘weaponizing’ federal financial law. ‘The Biden administration’s pursuit of its political opponents must be stopped; the senator said.” [KARK, 2/5/24]
Cotton Argued That The Charge Against Trump Was A Sign Of Political Persecution. According to Roll Call, “Cotton and the other Republicans argue that the Biden administration’s use of the charge against Trump is a sign of its danger as a tool of political prosecutions.” [Roll Call, 4/15/24]
Fisher’s Case Would Have Set The Precedent For Hundreds Of January 6 Defendants. According to Roll Call, “A decision that sides with Fischer could upend hundreds of pending cases against Jan. 6 defendants — as well as the Washington-based federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump.” [Roll Call, 4/15/24]
Roll Call: Fisher’s Case Would Have Set The Precedent For “Trump’s Washington-Based Federal Criminal Case Against Former President Trump.” According to Roll Call, “A decision that sides with Fischer could upend hundreds of pending cases against Jan. 6 defendants — as well as the Washington-based federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump.” [Roll Call, 4/15/24]
Cotton’s Brief Argued That Charging January 6 Rioters With Severe Charges Could Lead To Further Politically Motivated Uses Of The Court. According to Roll Call “’If allowed to stand, the lower court’s decision will only reward and incentivize politically motivated uses of ill-fitting criminal statutes with harsh penalties,’ Cotton’s brief said.” [Roll Call, 4/15/24]
Cotton Dismissed The Charges Against Trump For His Actions After The 2020 Election. According to The Hill, “Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) joined a chorus of conservative voices Wednesday in dismissing the charges against former president Trump handed down Tuesday in connection with his effort to contest and overturn the 2020 election.” [The Hill, 8/2/23]
Cotton On Trump’s Actions After The Election: “These Are All Constitutionally Protected Activities.” According to The Hill, ‘“These are all constitutionally protected activities,’ he said of Trump’s actions after the 2020 election. ‘You don’t have to agree with him, you don’t have to think he was right. But I don’t see how these charges can go forward without a serious constitutional challenge from the former president.’” [The Hill, 8/2/23]
Cotton Compared The Charges Trump Faced To Something A News Producer Would Come Up With. According to The Hill, ‘“I’ve only had a chance to skim through it, but it seems like something that you’d get from an MSNBC producer for a special on that channel,’ Cotton said during an appearance on Fox News.” [The Hill, 8/2/23]
May 2024: Cotton Flew The “Appeal To Heaven” Flag Outside His Office. According to the Daily Beast, “Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who is reportedly a top contender for Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, has jumped on the bandwagon of flying the Christian nationalist ‘Appeal To Heaven’ flag. Cotton proudly announced on social media that he had installed the flag outside his Senate office.” [Daily Beast, 5/24/24]
Daily Beast: The “Appeal To Heaven” Flag: “Was Recently Co-Opted By Religious Pro-Trump Insurrectionists Who Stormed The U.S. Capitol.” According to the Daily Beast, “While Cotton correctly identified the flag’s Revolutionary War origins, it was more recently co-opted by religious pro-Trump insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol.” [Daily Beast, 5/24/24]